You’ve been blogging since 2005 and the Scandinavian style is ever-present in your posts. How has your style and aesthetic evolved over the 8 years you’ve been blogging?

In the beginning, my style was all over the place. A part of it was caused by me not having found my own style or voice yet, but it was also partly because there was so little material available online at that time, so being too picky would leave you with nothing to blog. In 2005, hardly any magazines, photographers or smaller brands had their own websites, and if you found some nice pictures they were usually tiny due to bandwidth issues. I also think the style change may have something to do with me leaving the magazine world to go off in my own direction, with no one influencing my style decisions.

I actually made a series of posts for the blog’s 5 years anniversary that clearly show the blog’s evolution in style:

As you can see, the style that is now dominating my blog, with the light, airy and paired down Scandinavian feel, has been doing so since around 2009. But in the beginning I was posting a wild mix of colorful seventies retro, surfstyle beach houses and moroccan boho villas.

You feature many amazing images from photographers and stylists — who are some of your favorite interiors photographers?

I have many favorites, but the ones I know I can always count on for great photos are Pia Ulin, Petra Bindel and Line Klein. All their pictures are amazing.

Who are your favorite stylists?

The tools used for blogging have changed a lot in 8 years — what are some of your favorite new changes in the blogosphere and what tools do you find the most helpful or most influential in changing how you work?

I find a lot of material for new blog posts on Pinterest, and it’s also a great tool for getting your posts seen and spread. I have a couple of “secret” boards where I pin pictures I want to use in future posts, or collect trends and themes. Facebook and Instagram are two other tools that I use a lot, but more for the personal connection with readers and other bloggers. I also love Pixlr, for editing my pictures online and making collages to use in picture heavy posts. And of course I use my iPhone a lot, for behind the scenes photos and videos, but also for blogging and seeing what others are up to.

Congratulations on your book! How was the process of editing a collection of interiors different than posting to your blog?

Thank you so much! A blog post is quickly forgotten in the archives, but a book is (hopefully) kept for many years, and there is no possibility to go back and edit it after it’s been printed. It will be available in the US at the end of April, and I hope you will enjoy it! Making a book is different in many ways, but mostly because of the sense of permanency. I tried to consider every picture and every word, to make sure they would stand up to the changes in style and still feel relevant after a few years. I think the hardest part was to kill my darlings, to cut down from the original 250+ projects I picked to what you now see in the book. The best moment of the whole journey was when I finally had the book in my hands, after working with it for 9 long months. It’s a very satisfying feeling to see your work boiled down to a real printed book, where all the little pieces create a bigger whole.

Scandinavian Design has greatly influenced interiors around the world — what do you think are the three most important Scandinavian influences in international design?

Sustainability, simplicity and light. These three form the foundation of Scandi design, and over the last 60-70 years the international design scene seems to have been slowly incorporating these factors as well. The style that used to be exclusive for the Nordic countries can now be created in places like as far apart as South Africa, Japan or Canada.

What do you want to attempt next? Is there something that you’ve always wanted to do but continue to put off?

I have a lot of ideas and dreams at the moment, but nothing is decided yet. One of those dreams is to make a book about the homes of interesting creatives in Scandinavia — people from different backgrounds like art, fashion, music and design. There are also a couple of persons and brands that I would love to cooperate with, and you will likely be seeing some of this later this year…

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Susan

May 3, 2013

As a lover of Scandinavian design, I’ve followed Emma’s blog since 2006. Her book has been pre ordered months ago and I can’t wait to get it. The Scandinavians “do” eclectic, fresh, light, and simple with such style, and they do it naturally. It’s a pleasure to be in a Scandinavian interior! Love Emma!!